29time to discuss ways of encouraging higher-education researchers in Japan to pub-
lish internationally. The audience comprised mainly young researchers and some of
the most internationally engaged Japanese researchers, and at the end its members
expressed a willingness to continue holding such sessions in English and open them
further to international scholars from Asia and beyond.
The development of Asian higher-education research, like any other such devel-
opment, faces ‘growing pains’ and requires difficult decisions. Scholars based in
Asia (with the exception of Hong Kong-based researchers, who also make the most
prolific contribution to global knowledge of higher education) often find it difficult
to write in English (Min 2014 ). However, language-editing services are increasingly
available in many countries, allowing authors to ensure that their manuscripts are in
accurate English prior to submission (Lane and Tang 2016 ). As a coordinating edi-
tor for one of the most international and visible journals in the field of higher educa-
tion (Higher Education), I can say with certainty that in the vast majority of cases,
submitted manuscripts are not turned down based on language issues if the research
is up to standard and has the potential to concretely advance the field. In addition,
some journals in the field of education offer programmes to help non-English native
speakers to publish internationally, minimising language barriers (Lillis et al. 2010 ).
As a result, language is still a barrier to higher-education researchers in Asia seeking
to publish internationally, but one that can be to some extent overcome.
Other challenges are much more concerning, such as the inadequate training and
preparation of researchers in tightly focused – and sometimes insular – national
higher-education research communities that accept and even promote research prac-
tices and writing styles that do not meet the requirements for publication in interna-
tional journals (e.g. Jung 2015 ; Yang 2015 ). The younger generation of researchers
must be exposed from a very early stage in their training – i.e. at Master’s level or
doctoral level – to the theories, methods and writing and presentation practices and
requirements adopted by the global higher-education community. To this end,
researchers-in-training should be given opportunities to engage intensively in
research activities and projects, to participate in and present research at interna-
tional conferences and to collaborate in various ways with researchers from differ-
ent countries (Sala-Bubaré and Castelló 2016 ; Laudel and Glaser 2008 ). This
process of socialisation is critical to ensure that the new generation of higher-
education researchers is adequately prepared to contribute effectively to the interna-
tional higher-education research literature.
Other concerns relate to career-promotion incentives, research identity and the
various obligations, duties and benefits that arise from engagement with international
and national communities. In many cases, such engagement creates tension due to
discrepancies between national, local and/or international practices (Kwiek 2015 ).
Examples include the priorities for research set by research-funding agencies and
the increasing constraints placed on time, a key academic resource (Ylijoki 2013 ).
The increasing pressure to publish internationally is accompanied by pressure to
publish in the national higher-education literature (Vessuri et al. 2014 ). It is impor-
tant to balance the contribution made by researchers to these two sectors of the lit-
erature, which have different audiences and belong to different research communities,
2 Higher-Education Researchers in Asia: The Risks of Insufficient Contribution...